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Formula 1 MSC Cruises Japanese Grand Prix 2025 Race Start, Suzuka International Racing Course, Suzuka, Mie-Prefecture, Japan. Steve Etherington/LAT Images. 2025 Japanese GP Preview, Japanese Grand Prix Preview, F1 Japanese GP Preview, Formula 1 Japan Preview, F1 Suzuka 2025 Preview.
2025 Japanese GP Preview – After Oscar Piastri lead from team-mate Lando Norris to take a dominant McLaren 1-2 in Shanghai as a double disqualification disaster hit Ferrari in the post-Grand Prix investigations after Sir Lewis Hamilton achieved victory for the Scuderia in the F1 Sprint, round three of the 2025 FIA Formula One World Championship returns to the famous Suzuka International Racing Course this weekend for the Formula 1 Lenovo Japanese Grand Prix 2025. This will be the 48th Japanese Grand Prix, the thirty-ninth edition as part of the Formula 1 World Championship since the sport began in 1950 and the thirty-fourth time the event has been held at Suzuka. This is also the first of a triple-header alongside the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix.
2025 Japanese GP Preview – A look at the Suzuka International Racing Course
Suzuka circuit is a permanent racing circuit located Suzuka City, Mie Prefecture, Japan and operated by the Mobilityland Corporation a subsidiary of Honda Motor Co. Ltd. Located in a theme park with the big wheel dominating the Suzuka Skyline, the circuit was designed as a test track for Honda in 1962 by John Hugenholtz (most notable designer of the Zandvoort, Zolder, Jarama and the stadium section of the Hockenheimring circuits), Suzuka is one of the few circuits in the world to have a figure-eight layout with the 1.2km back straight passing over the front section by an overpass. The circuit features some of the most challenging corners on the calendar including the Esses, the high-speed 130R and the famous Spoon Curve. The circuit has been modified four times during its time.
In 1987, having hosted sportscar racing and Formula 2 and having lost out initially to Fuji Speedway in the race to host the Japanese Grand Prix, Honda finally succeeded, and Formula 1 had a new Japanese home (2007-2008 aside when the race was held at Fuji Speedway), the circuit has stayed ever since and has provided the scene for many nail-biting title deciding finales including the famous collisions between Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna in 1989 and 1990. These moments added to Suzuka’s appeal with fans around the world and of course the circuit is a favourite amongst the drivers due to its difficult and demanding challenges. Suzuka is also one of the most demanding circuits on tyre wear.
The Suzuka Circuit is 5.807km (3.609 miles) in length with 18 corners and runs uniquely in both a clockwise and anti-clockwise direction.
Race distance is 307.471km (109.062 miles) in length with 53 laps in total.
Lewis Hamilton holds the fastest lap record with a 1:30.983 set in 2019 in his Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team F1 W10 EQ Power+.
Michael Schumacher holds the record for most victories at the Japanese Grand Prix with six.
McLaren are the most successful constructor at the Japanese Grand Prix with nine victories.
2025 Japanese GP Preview – Onboard Pole Lap of Suzuka
Here is the onboard pole lap of Suzuka set at the 2024 event by Max Verstappen in his Oracle Red Bull Racing Honda-RBPT RB20 racer. The reigning four-time World Champion posted a 1:28.197. You can watch the video right here at the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHEVifntgl0
2025 Japanese GP Preview – The Last Five Winners
2024: Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing. 2023: Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing. 2022: Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing. 2021-20: Not Held. 2019: Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes AMG F1. 2018: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes AMG F1.
2025 Japanese GP Preview – Tyres
Pirelli will be bringing with them to Suzuka, the white side-walled C1 Hards, the yellow-marked C2 Medium tyres and the C3 red-branded Soft rubber along with the green-branded Intermediate and blue-marked Full Wet tyre compounds in case of rain.
2025 Japanese GP Preview – DRS Zones
As in 2024, there will only be a single DRS Zone at Suzuka which is on the main straight. The detection point is 50 metres before turn 16 and the activation point is 100 metres before the control line.
2025 Japanese GP Preview – Pitlane Speed Limits
Pitlane speed limits will be 80km/h during practice, qualifying and the race.
ICYMI: Piastri takes dominant third-career victory at Chinese GP
Oscar Piastri lead home team-mate Lando Norris who was suffering brake issue to a McLaren one-two finish at the Chinese GP as Mercedes’ George Russell rounded out the top three.
Piastri dominated from start-to-finish in a faultless drive to take his third-career victory and this was McLaren’s 50th one-two finish in their history.
Norris now leads the World Driver’s Championship with 44 points and an eight-point gap to Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.
When the 56-lap Chinese GP began, pole-sitter Piastri did not get a good start as Russell gets a solid run off the line as then the former covers the Mercedes into turn three whilst Norris danced his McLaren passed Russell to make it a McLaren one-two.
Further behind, reigning world champion Max Verstappen dropped back into sixth as both Ferrari’s of Sir Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc made contact with the latter damaging his front wing end plate heading through towards the turn three left hander.
At the beginning of the second tour, Piastri held a one second lead over team-mate Norris with Russell third, Hamilton fourth, Leclerc fifth, Verstappen sixth, Mercedes’ Andrea Kimi Antonelli seventh, Racing Bulls’ Yuki Tsunoda eighth and Isack Hadjar ninth as Haas’s Esteban Ocon rounded out the top ten.
Leclerc was told from his team that he was missing downforce, which would not help his tyres – but the Maranello Marque told the Monegasque driver to try and remain out until the initial round of pit-stops if he could.
“We can survive,” Leclerc confirmed, but he dropped out of DRS range of his team mate Hamilton ahead.
Further back, Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso had smoke flowing from his brakes and radioed to his team saying: “I cannot brake, I have no brakes!” as the Spaniard crawled back to the pits to retire on lap six due to the brake issue, which was reported by Alpine’s Pierre Gasly earlier on.
On the sixth lap, race leader Piastri had team-mate Norris in DRS range at 0.788 seconds with Russell third, Hamilton fourth, Leclerc fifth, Verstappen holding sixth as Antonelli completed the top seven runners.
Piastri increased his gap up to 1.286 seconds on the seventh lap, with Russell 1.626 seconds behind in third, Hamilton fourth as Leclerc continued to hold on in fifth despite the front wing damage.
Race leader Piastri’s C3 yellow-marked mediums were looking in better conditions compared to team-mate Norris with fresh air the key, dropping out away from traffic is crucial in Shanghai. The Briton would not have DRS on the eight tour as he thought about cooling his tyres.
Further back, reigning world champion Verstappen down in sixth was nursing his C3’s like the others and dropped three seconds back from Leclerc.
On lap nine, you could see front left tyre graining for both Norris and Hamilton as the former confirmed that he was starting to struggle.
Leclerc on alp ten was looking quicker than team-mate Hamilton and was in DRS range with the latter potentially managing his C3’s.
On the 11th lap, Piastri held a 1.970 second gap over team-mate Norris with Russell third, Hamilton fourth, Leclerc fifth as Verstappen rounded out the top six.
Gasly was the first to pit for Alpine also on lap 11 as Leclerc was told they were sticking with “plan B” due to traffic.
On the 12th tour, race leader Piastri was asked about plan C. Which could potentially be a one stopper as his rubber was in much better condition in clear air as his McLaren team-mate Norris was told degradation is much lower than expected, as th track temperatures were beginning to drop as Doohan, Tsunoda and Ocon all stopped for fresh C2 white Hard compounds.
On lap 13, seventh-placed Antonelli pitted for the Silver Arrows for his C2 Hards and was undercut by Tsunoda down in 14th as he emerged.
Lap 14 saw fourth and sixth-placed Hamilton and Verstappen pit for their hard rubber and came out in 10th and 12th places respectively whilst Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg split the duo in 11th whilst still on the mediums.
Lap 15 saw race leader Piastri and third-placed Russell stop for their fresh harder tyres and emerged in fourth and eighth as Norris still to pit takes the lead.
Russell on fresher rubber made short work of the yet-to-pit Haas of Oliver Bearman and rapidly moved up to eighth place.
On the 16th tour, Norris and Leclerc both pitted for their harder tyres and came out in fifth behind Stroll (Norris) and behind Hamilton (Leclerc) in ninth.
Russell managed to clear Stroll rapidly as Norris was beaten by Russell’s undercut and had to clear Stroll as quick as possible. The Briton had a look around the outside of Stroll into turn six, but the Aston Martin kept the MCL39 behind.
Norris then cleared the Aston Martin and began chasing after the Mercedes of Russell.
With DRS assistance on the main straight, Norris made his way ahead of Russell into the snaking turns one, two and three to take third place.
Further behind on the 18th and 19th tours, both Ferrari’s of Hamilton and Leclerc managed to clear Stroll’s AMR25 to move up a place into fifth and sixth, respectively.
On lap 19, the yet-to-pit second-placed Albon was overtaken by Norris on the back straight at the turn 14 right hand hairpin as the former was told to pit but does not.
Lap 21 saw Piastri’s lead over team-mate Norris sitting at 4.321 seconds with Russell overtaking Albon who comes into the pits as Leclerc and Hamilton switched places as the latter was reporting struggles.
Albon emerged in 14th place on his fresh C2 hards behind Alpine’s Gasly.
The situation on the 22nd lap was that race leader Piastri done well out of the initial round of pit-stops as Norris lost time battling with Russell and Stroll. Leclerc had better pace compared to team-mate Hamilton, so the Monegasque driver gained during that first stint, Verstappen was back up to sixth having overtaken Antonelli’s F1 W16 entry.
Stroll and Bearman were both in the top ten on their original C2 white compounds, the only pairing yet to stop.
On the 24th lap, Albon’s long stint on the mediums were not helpful – the undercut was the much stronger option. The Williams driver was running a one-stopper and had just picked off Gasly, then was chasing down Hadjar’s RB.
Further up the field, Leclerc was hunting down third-placed Russell at a rate of knots and close to DRS range.
Lap 25 in the battle for seventh place on the back straight Bearman made a lunge up the inside of Stroll into turn 14, but the Briton suffered a lock-up and Stroll grabbed the place back from the Haas.
On the 26th tour in the fight for third, Leclerc was in DRS range of Russell’s Mercedes, despite saying his rival’s traction was “unbelievable”. This was the battle for best-of-the-rest behind the two leading McLaren’s.
Lap 27 saw Bearman finally make his stop for C3 mediums and emerged down in 17th place behind Red Bull’s Liam Lawson.
Further behind Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto who suffered an earlier spin and pitted earlier made his second pit-stop as out-front Norris posted the fastest lap of the Grand Prix at this stage of proceedings with the gap still at 3.371 seconds to leading team-mate Piastri.
“We want to use up some the pace in these tyres,” Norris was told by his team, and he responds. Another fastest lap meant the lead comes down to 3.2s now on the 29th lap.
On the 30th lap, Piastri’s lead was at three seconds over Norris who was starting to eat into his team-mate’s gap, Russell was third, Leclerc fourth, Hamilton fifth as reigning world champion Verstappen rounded out the top six runners.
On lap 31 in the fight for the final podium place, Leclerc suffered a lock-up at turn 14 and flat-spotting his rubber in the process, which dropped the Ferrari driver out of DRS range. His Ferrari team-mate was only 2.8 seconds behind, as his pace disappeared overnight.
Further back Bearman made short work of Lawson as the latter came in for his pit-stop.
On the radio, Norris told his team to tell team-mate Piastri to pick up his pace so the turbulent air would not cause tyre degradation.
Further back on the 34th lap, Bearman made his way up to 15th overtaking Doohan’s A525 entry, and the Briton now had Sainz in his sights.
On the 35th tour, Hadjar pitted for the second time having started seventh, he dropped down in 16th following that one.
There was still plenty of chatter with Norris and his team reporting that with three laps to go there is a chance of class one rain to hit the circuit and also has the possibility to catch his race leading team-mate near the end.
With 20 laps remaining, Piastri’s lead over McLaren team-mate Norris was at 3.238 seconds with Russell a further 4.882 seconds in third, Leclerc fourth, Hamilton fifth as Verstappen completed the top six.
On the 37th lap eighth-placed Stroll finally pitted for his fresh set of C3 medium tyres and came out in 14th behind Doohan. Further up, Verstappen was beginning to close in on Hamilton in the battle for fifth.
Lap 38 saw Hamilton pit for another fresh set of hards and emerged in sixth place behind Verstappen.
On the 39th tour, with DRS assistance Bearman had a look around the inside of Gasly into turn one, but the latter covered the former in the fight for the final points place. Later on in the lap, Bearman had a look at the turn 14 hairpin, but once again the Frenchman stopped the Briton in his tracks, but the Haas had the better traction and then backed off in the final corner.
The on the 40th lap, Bearman with DRS assistance once more made a move around the outside of Gasly to sweep into tenth place.
On lap 42, Red Bull Race Engineer Giampiero Lambiase reported to Verstappen that his pace was good and to keep going as he was continuing to gain on fourth-placed Leclerc bringing the gap down to 3.762 seconds.
The 44th tour saw second-placed Norris losing pace to his race leading team-mate Piastri as the gap widened to 4.7 seconds whilst Russell was five second behind Norris and the laps were continuing to run out.
Verstappen was told over the radio: “Everyone trying to hang it out now, don’t know what might happen at the end.”
With nine laps remaining, Piastri’s lead over team-mate Norris was at 4.028 seconds with Russell third, Leclerc fourth, Verstappen fifth as Hamilton rounded out the top six.
On lap 48, Norris reported his brake was going long – and debating with his race engineer as the Briton was frustrated.
Lap 49, saw Verstappen just 2.2 seconds behind Leclerc in the battle for fourth, whilst behind Hamilton was still on the charge, the Briton however, was still 13.2 seconds behind the Red Bull.
The 50th tour, “The brake pedal will continue to get long,” Norris was told. He asked how bad it is. To which his team replied: “It will continue to get longer each lap.” The McLaren driver would be counting down the laps to the finish, with dodgy brakes not helping his confidence.
On the 52nd tour in the fight for fourth, Verstappen was right on the back of Leclerc and had a look into turn one, but the latter kept the Red Bull driver behind.
On the back straight with DRS assistance on the rundown into the turn 14 right hand hairpin, Verstappen got ever closer to the Ferrari and on the 53rd tour tried around the inside, then went around the outside of turn two and then made the jump into turn three to move up into fourth.
Leclerc attempted to take the place back off Verstappen into the turn six right hander, but the latter shut the door and made the move stick.
On the penultimate tour, Norris was told by his team that the brakes were “critical” and needed to coast it home for second.
Piastri crossed the line to take the Chinese GP victory by 9.748 seconds as team-mate Norris survived to coast home second to complete a one-two finish for McLaren as Russell completed the podium finishers.
Verstappen finished a distant fourth and in-front of MoneyGram Haas F1 Team’s Ocon who came home in fifth place and in-front Mercedes’ Antonelli who took sixth place as Williams’ Albon (seventh) and Haas’s Bearman placed eighth in the classification.
Aston Martin’s Stroll came in ninth as Williams’ Sainz who reached the chequered flag 10th.
RB’s Hadjar finished outside the top ten in 11th place and in-front of Red Bull’s Lawson who came home 12th and Doohan who was 13th for Alpine.
Sauber duo of Hulkenberg and Bortoleto were next in 14th and 15th respectively as the other RB of Tsunoda brought up the rear in 16th.
Alonso was the sole retiree of the race.
****Ferrari’s Leclerc originally finished the Grand Prix in fifth place but was disqualified after his SF-25 entry was found to be underweight in post-race checks by the FIA. The Monegasque driver and his team were summoned to the stewards office over the alleged breach of Article 4.1 of the Technical Regulations – A section relating to car weight. In the report from FIA Technical Delegate Jo Bauer, it was revealed that Leclerc’s SF-25 weighed exactly 800kg’s after the Ferrari driver returned to the pits – the minimum weight required under the aforementioned regulations. Given that Leclerc’s front wing was damaged in the early contact with team-mate Hamilton, Leclerc’s SF-25 was re-weighed with the recovered endplate and then a spare front wing, which increased the overall weight to 800.5kg. However, when the fuel was drained from the SF-25 entry, with two litres of fuel drained as required as per the draining procedure submitted by Ferrari, it dropped to a weight of 799kg’s – just below the minimum requirement.
Alpine’s Gasly originally finished the Grand Prix outside the points in 11th place but was disqualified after his A525 entry was found to be underweight in post-race checks by the FIA. The Monegasque driver and his team were summoned to the stewards office over the alleged breach of Article 4.1 of the Technical Regulations – Also related to car weight. Gasly’s A525 entry weight in at 800kg’s during its first weight check, only for the mass fuel check to take place and 1.1kgs of fuel removed, again as following the draining procedure submitted by Alpine, meaning it registered at 799kgs.
Both incidents were referred to the stewards by Bauer, and after reviewing each situation, they handed out disqualifications to both Leclerc and Gasly – excluding them from the race results. ****
****Ferrari’s Hamilton was also disqualified from the Chinese Grand Prix like team-mate Leclerc, but for a different reason – the rear skid block of his SF-25 racer was found to be under the minimum thickness required in the Technical Regulations. After taking victory in the F1 Sprint on Saturday, the seven-time world champion made contact with team-mate Leclerc on the opening tour before struggling to keep pace compared to his rivals and originally wounded up sixth in the classification. However, after the FIA Technical Delegate’s race report, it stated that the skid wear of Hamilton’s SF-25 racer was checked after the race, with the rearmost skid found to be below the minimum 9 millimetres of thickness required, meaning the matter was passed to the race stewards. Hamilton and a Ferrari representative reported to the stewards and after the hearing took place, it was announced that the Briton would also be disqualified and excluded from the results. ****
2025 Japanese GP Preview – A Tribute to Eddie Jordan
On March 20 2025, we learned of the tragic news of the loss of one of Formula One’s most charismatic and amazing team owners – a real racer in Eddie Jordan.
Born in Dublin, Ireland on March 30 1948 (he would have been 76) – Jordan was synonymous with motorsport, having climbed the ladder initially as a racer before putting his main focus to become a Team Owner.
In his stint behind the wheel in the 1970’s and early 80’s, Jordan achieved success in the Irish Kart Championship and raced in Formula Ford, Formula 3, Formula 2, as well as an appearance in the legendary 24 Heures Du Mans.
By the end of the 70’s, the Irishman set up his own single-seater team Jordan Racing, which competed in International Formula 3000 from 1985-1991, steadily making it’s way through the ranks before reaching the pinnacle of motorsport in 1991 – Formula One becoming known as Jordan Grand Prix.
Jordan famously gave seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher his debut during that 1991 season, along with many other notable names – including Jean Alesi, Rubens Barrichello, Martin Brundle and Damon Hill – racing for the outfit over the years.
1996 Formula One World Champion Hill gave Jordan’s first F1 victory during a rain-soaked dramatic 1998 Belgian Grand Prix, with team-mate Ralf Schumacher following the Briton to make it a one-two and a solid result for the Silverstone based-squad.
Jordan triumphed in further Grands Prix including with Heinz-Harald Frentzen in the 1999 campaign, when the driver and team emerged as title-contenders, before a fourth and final victory – with Giancarlo Fisichella at a dramatic 2003 Brazilian Grand Prix.
Jordan sold his outfit in 2005 and the now famous-name dropped off the Formula One grid the following campaign, but it was not the last time the sport heard from him.
In 2009, Jordan became a pundit for BBC’s Formula 1 coverage, spending several years entertaining fans and breaking major news stories such as seven-time world champion Sir Lewis Hamilton’s switch from McLaren to Mercedes at the end of the 2012 season.
The Irishman then took on an F1 role with Channel 4, whilst appearing on famous automotive show Top Gear as well as running his own podcast series in – Formula For Success – with former BBC partner and F1 driver David Coulthard.
Recently, he was F1 design master Adrian Newey’s manager, and orchestrated the Briton’s move out of Red Bull to take on a new position at Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team – the duo sharing an interest in sailing.
In the statement from Jordan’s family of his tragic passing they stated: “It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of Eddie Jordan OBE the ex-Formula 1 team owner, TV pundit and entrepreneur. He passed away peacefully with family by his side in Cape Town in the early hours of 20th March 2025 at the age of 76, after battling with an aggressive form of prostate cancer for the past 12 months. He was working until the last, having communicated on St Patrick’s Day, about his ambitions for London Irish Rugby Football Club, of which he had recently become Patron. EJ brought an abundance of charisma, energy and Irish charm everywhere he went. We all have a huge hole missing without his presence. He will be missed by so many people, but he leaves us with tonnes of great memories to keep us smiling through our sorrow.” Credit to the Jordan family for the quote.
Jordan also had a love for music, creating his own band and playing the drums and spoons, alongside his other hobbies such as the arts, cycling and golf along with his huge portfolio of business activities.
Jordan left this world on March 20 2025 after a long battle with an aggressive form of bladder and prostate cancer.
Jordan is survived by his wife Marie and his four children. We will never forget you, Eddie. Forever a legend.
2025 Japanese GP Preview – The Situation
The first leg of the campaign’s first triple header begins this weekend in Suzuka before the sport heads to the Middle East for consecutive Grands Prix in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia over the following weeks.
Suzuka remains as a drivers’ favourite track due to it’s fast-flowing high-speed sweeps challenging them and putting their machines to the test.
The very passionate Japanese fans will most definitely be excited after Yuki Tsunoda was suddenly promoted to the Red Bull senior team alongside four-time world champion Max Verstappen, the home-favourite earning one of the sport’s high-profile racing seat on the grid at the expense of Liam Lawson who drops back into the Visa Cash App Racing Bulls outfit.
Although beaten by team-mate Piastri at last round’s Chinese GP, Norris still holds the early lead in the World Driver’s Championship standings with a small gap over reigning world champion Verstappen – who is only one point in-front of third-placed George Russell and two ahead of Piastri.
But Ferrari are off in both world championship chases and will be desperate to bounce back in Japan after the promise of Sir Lewis Hamilton’s triumph in the F1 Sprint in Shanghai, which was followed by a costly double post-race disqualification in the Grand Prix to end what was a disappointing race-day performance from the Prancing Horse.
Norris returns to the “Land of the Rising Sun” sitting on top of the World Driver’s Championship with 44 points and an eight-point advantage over closest rival Verstappen who is second on 36 points whilst Mercedes’ Russell is third and a further nine points behind the Briton on 35 points.
McLaren Formula 1 Team returns to Japan on top of the Constructors Championship with 78 points and a 21-point lead over nearest rivals Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula 1 Team who are second on 57 points whilst Oracle Red Bull Racing are a further 42 points behind the Woking based-outfit in third on 36 points.
Click here for the 2025 Formula 1 World Driver’s (Top 10) and Constructor’s Championship Standings
The Formula 1 Lenovo Japanese Grand Prix 2025 weekend begins Friday April 4 with Free Practice 1 and 2, followed by Free Practice 3 and Qualifying Saturday April 5 and the 53 lap Race Sunday April 6.
